Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] We as a church. You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us. Four years we've been going through a gospel, and this year it's been John. And so that long series ends today with John chapters 20 and 21, and culminating of course with the resurrection of Jesus as well as a beautiful story of restoration in John chapter 21 to one of his disciples named Peter. And so we're going to spend some time on both those passages today, a little bit of reading, but that feels apt on a day like today. So John chapter 20, verse one says early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
[00:00:40] She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, which by the way, for the uninitiated, that is John, the author of this book, talking about himself, the other disciple, you know, the one that Jesus loved so much.
[00:00:56] This is some of his funniest writing too. Pay attention. She says they've taken the Lord's body out of the tomb and we don't know where they put him. And so Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb and they were both running. But the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
[00:01:12] I love that John, who's like an old man writing this, he's getting to the end of his gospel and he's like, okay, the resurrection. But first there was a race.
[00:01:22] Guess who won?
[00:01:24] The beautiful guy that Jesus loves so much, that's who won. Of course.
[00:01:28] He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there. But he didn't go in. And then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there. And while the cloth that had covered Jesus head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.
[00:01:42] And then the disciple who had reached the tomb first, he does it again.
[00:01:47] And he saw and believe. For until then they still hadn't understood the scriptures that Jesus that said Jesus must rise from the dead. And then they went home. Now Mary was standing outside the tomb crying. And as she wept, she stooped and looked in and she saw two white robed angels, one sitting at the head and other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. Dear woman, why are you crying? The angels asked her. Because they've taken away my Lord, she replied. And I don't know where they've put him. She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. And it was Jesus. But she didn't recognize him. Dear woman, why are you crying? Jesus asked her, who are you looking for? She thought it was the gardener, sir, she said, if you've taken him away, tell me where you've put him and I will go and get him.
[00:02:29] Mary, Jesus said. And she turned to him and cried out, rabboni, which is Hebrew for teacher, don't cling to me, Jesus said, for I haven't yet ascended to the Father, but go and find my brothers and tell them I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. And Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, I've seen the Lord. And then she gave them his message.
[00:02:53] Father God, we just thank you for this word of the Lord. We pray that we would be inspired again by the great resurrection Lord Jesus. That we would be reminded that you have defeated death. And so you have also defeated death in us. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:03:08] So this, of course, is full of hope, right? That's what Easter is. It's full of hope. It's full of music, it's full of fresh haircuts for the kids and beautiful dresses and bright colors.
[00:03:19] All of these things, right? It's meant to be this. And of course, it is the most important day of the Christian calendar that we are reminded that death could not hold Jesus. And that's, of course, what separates Jesus for many moral teachers or philosophers or all kinds of people that have made an impact on the world. But the reason we believe that Jesus is the Son of God is because he died and then he came back.
[00:03:41] And that is someone that you follow after.
[00:03:44] And so Christ has risen, the stone is rolled away, and death is defeated. But then what happens in John's Gospel is he goes into what many of your Bibles would say. At the beginning of the section In John, chapter 21 is an epilogue where there's a couple more stories where Jesus interacts with his disciples.
[00:04:00] And this is where I think we can learn a lot about what the resurrection means for us today.
[00:04:07] Because this story that we're about to read is kind of what happens when the adrenaline wears off, right? When the crowd thins out after the Easter egg hunts. And then we have a little bit of a sugar high in the afternoon, and we're kind of grumpy in the evening. That's where this story finds us.
[00:04:21] Because I've spent my whole life going to church.
[00:04:24] I find that it's a lot of times sometimes the Easter celebrations can feel a little bit funny, because I know what life Feels like on just a regular day in June when I'm trying to figure out my purpose, I'm trying to figure out my connection to God. And I believe that Jesus shows us how we stay connected in this story in John chapter 21.
[00:04:41] So that's where this story meets us, in the middle of this spot that isn't necessarily the resurrection celebration, but live days after.
[00:04:48] So John 21 says this. It says, later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. And this is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there. Simon Peter, Thomas, nicknamed the Twin Nathaniel from Canaan Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. And Simon Peter said, I'm going fishing. We'll come too, they all said. And so they went out on the boat. But they caught nothing all night.
[00:05:12] And at dawn, Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was. And he called out, fellows, have you caught any fish? Any of you who fish know that that's a very potentially mean question to be asked, especially after you've been fishing all night. Just says no, they replied.
[00:05:29] And then he said, throw out your net on the right hand side of the boat and you'll get some. And so they did. They couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. And then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, it's the Lord. And when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic, for he had stripped for work, jumped into the water and headed to shore. And the others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore. For they were only about a hundred yards from the shore. And when they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them, fish cooking over a charcoal fire and some bread. Bring some of the fish you've just caught, Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to shore. And there were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn. Now come have some breakfast. Maybe the most beautiful words in all of scripture, by the way, nobody quotes that one, right? Well, you know what the Bible says.
[00:06:18] Come, let's have some breakfast.
[00:06:21] You guys want people to get saved? That's how you do it, you know, you quote Leviticus if you want. I'm quoting John 21. Come have some breakfast.
[00:06:31] None of the disciples dared to ask him, who are you? And then they knew it was the Lord. And then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. And this was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he'd been raised from the dead. Now watch this interaction that Jesus has with Peter says after breakfast, Jesus asked, simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, Peter replied, you know that I love you. Then feed my lambs, Jesus told him.
[00:06:55] Jesus repeated the question. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, Peter said, you know that I love you.
[00:07:02] Then take care of my sheep, Jesus said. Then he would go on to ask him again, and Peter would even get a little bit frustrated at the repetition of the question.
[00:07:11] Now, the reason that Jesus asked these questions is because of Peter, Peter's past.
[00:07:16] So if you're unfamiliar with the scripture, you may know or may not know that Peter is one of the most emotional and reactionary people in all of the Bible.
[00:07:26] Peter has a few different places where he kind of answers right at this one question where Jesus says, are you guys going to lead me to referencing the disciples? And Peter says, well, where else would we go? You have the words of life. And then at one point, Jesus is washing the feet of all the disciples as an expression of his love for them and the grace that's offered them in this gospel. And he gets to Peter and he says, peter, I have to wash your feet. And Peter goes, no way. You're not washing my feet. And then Jesus says, I need to. And Peter says, okay, then wash all of me. And then Jesus is like, no, we're gonna stick with the feet.
[00:07:58] Yeah, the feet are fine.
[00:08:00] Get the job done.
[00:08:02] And then at one point, Jesus says, you're gonna. One of you is gonna betray me. And then Peter goes, look, if every single one of these referencing the rest of the disciples in the room, if they were to betray you, I would never do so, ever.
[00:08:17] And then Peter, shortly after then goes and denies him, not just once, not just twice, but three times.
[00:08:23] And so Peter said a lot of things that he hasn't been able to back up particularly well. And now the resurrection of Jesus means that when he's around, he kind of has to come to grips with the fact that the one he's betrayed now sits down with him.
[00:08:37] And so it creates this really honest moment here with breakfast on the beach, where Peter's seeing the empty tomb and he's heard the news and he's encountered the risen Jesus. And then he takes this moment of his life to say, I'm going to go back to an old way of working and habit and I'm going to go fishing.
[00:08:54] And I believe it's because he doesn't necessarily know what else to do. He's Kind of caught between this resurrection reality as well as this unfinished faith failure that he is.
[00:09:05] So Jesus is alive, but Peter still remembers the fire around which he denied him before the death of Christ. And the resurrection has happened, but Peter hasn't yet been restored. And so he goes back to what he knows. And, of course, that's fishing. I wonder if a lot of us kind of live in this space, right? We believe in Easter, but we want to carry ourselves around like it's still Friday.
[00:09:26] We've heard that he's risen, but we're still unsure what that means for our actual every single day lives, aside from simply just the tradition of Christianity.
[00:09:36] And so when Jesus calls out, friends, have you any fish? They don't really recognize him yet. And he tells them, go ahead and throw your net on the other side of the boat. And suddenly everything changes. A miracle happens, which is something that they're familiar with in following Jesus around.
[00:09:51] And so here's what's really happening is Jesus again, like he had so many other times, is meeting the disciples in their place of deep grief and disappointment. And so it turns into a moment of recognition of their Savior because of the miracle.
[00:10:05] But the great thing about the resurrection is that it's not about proof. It's about this presence of God going with us, not just then, but even now, today.
[00:10:13] And so Jesus doesn't wait for them to come to him. He goes to them and arrives on the beach. And then Peter does that emotional thing, like he has this entire time right of his life. He kind of just. He hears it's the Lord, and all of a sudden he's going to throw on his clothes, which I've never thrown on my clothes, to go swimming. You know, the chafing is real.
[00:10:31] It says he throws on his tunic, and then he jumps in. He doesn't wait, he jumps into the water. He's impulsive and passionate and kind of desperate again. But he's also doesn't know it yet, potentially, but he is swimming not just toward Jesus, but toward this great restoration that his soul is longing for.
[00:10:47] And so, because this last time, Peter stood near a charcoal fire. He denied Jesus three times. And of course, there's a fire waiting for him with Jesus on the shore.
[00:10:59] And so when they landed, it says they saw a fire burning coals with fish on it and some bread. How lovely to think that Jesus already has breakfast ready for us.
[00:11:08] They've been striving all night. Jesus knows what they need. And this is an expression of grace that even when we don't deserve it when we haven't earned it. Still, we're offered up a meal in restoration.
[00:11:20] But it's great, because before Peter even says a word or apologizes and before anything is fixed, Jesus feeds him. He doesn't call him on the carpet. He doesn't demand anything of Peter. Instead, he simply invites him to breakfast. Even in his deep failure and imperfection, Jesus feeds him.
[00:11:37] And that's because resurrection, grace, and I hope you understand this today, it doesn't begin with some kind of correction. Instead, it simply begins with an invitation and welcome from Jesus, us.
[00:11:49] And so after breakfast, Jesus turns to Peter and he says this. Now, pay attention specifically to this. He says, simon, son of John, do you love me?
[00:12:00] Now, if you don't know Simon was Peter's name, Jesus himself actually renamed him to Peter, meaning rock instead of Simon. That meant reed or something that was very easily blown around because on the rock of Peter, he wanted to build his church.
[00:12:14] So he himself renames him. But then, in this moment, he recalls his old name.
[00:12:18] Now, my wife loves to tell a story about us when we were first dating, around 21 years old. And now my parents live with me, and my mom loves to tell this story as well. And it's basically the story when I broke up with who is now my wife, because I really felt like God was telling me to, which is not right and really dumb. And. And if you've ever been broken up with in such a way, just know that that person is a fool, okay?
[00:12:45] But I love what happens so often is there's, like, this great story, and my mom and my wife love to, like, bounce back and forth. Remember when he said that? Remember when he thought that? Oh, and then you got him back and you set him straight. And I've noticed that anytime in my life when I'm, you know, feeling prideful or like I've arrived somewhere, like I'm a respected person, this story just kind of comes out of nowhere.
[00:13:06] They'd be like, hey, what do you want for breakfast? And my kids would be like, frosted Flakes. And Rebecca would be like, did I ever tell you about the time your father was a flake?
[00:13:17] What is.
[00:13:18] What's going on?
[00:13:20] You know? Have you ever been around those people or heard those things where they know, right? It's like the nickname that you had or the voice that's familiar. They walk into the room, and it's kind of like you're transported to this original version of yourself that maybe doesn't have the level of success or hasn't seen the amount of time and it's, it's. There's something kind of oddly intimate and vulnerable about that thing, right?
[00:13:43] And Jesus is doing that in this story. He's saying, when he says Simon instead of Peter, he's saying, let's remember that I know you.
[00:13:51] I know all the mistakes and the problems. And while we're sitting here, I'm not looking at you saying, no, we're just going to forget about all those things and we're just going to. To ignore them and continue on. He's saying, no, we're actually going to allow those things to sit with us here at the fire. We know them. I know them. I know you.
[00:14:07] I know your emotions and your problems and your failures and your regrets and everything that you'd like to take back. I know every single one of them.
[00:14:15] But notice that Jesus doesn't also say, why did you fail me? Or why weren't you stronger? Why did you mess this up? I gave you all the tools. You shouldn't have messed this up. You got to walk with me for years. Instead, he. He simply asked, do you love me?
[00:14:28] And this is because resurrection isn't about replaying this worst moment of shame over and over in our minds. Maybe you're one of these people like me, that has a tendency to do this. I love to ruminate on the worst things that I've ever done or said. It's kind of how I entertain myself sometimes at 2 in the morning.
[00:14:46] He doesn't do all these things. Instead, he comes back and he tries to reclaim with Peter his true, deepest identity. And that is a follower and. And a son of God.
[00:14:59] So every time Peter responds, Jesus is giving him this calling. Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep. In other words, he's looking at someone who feels like they've messed up beyond repair. And he says, you're not done yet.
[00:15:15] And so this story tells us something profound. That Easter for us also is not simply just about Jesus coming back to life and the empty tomb and the beautiful of a miracle of someone overcoming death. But instead it's about Jesus coming back for you, for your confusion and your failure, your feeling of incompleteness. You're feeling like you didn't achieve everything that you set out to achieve. And you and all of your regrets and frustrations in the middle of your unfinished story. Jesus is coming back for you right now, in this moment.
[00:15:45] And so resurrection doesn't just conquer death. It also restores people. It restores Peter around a fire and you right here in this church today, it meets you on the shore of your real life, and it says, let's begin again.
[00:15:58] Because the true story of Easter that I hope you take away with today is that you still belong and you can start again.
[00:16:09] So I want to invite you, as we prepare to close here in a moment, maybe you feel like Peter. Maybe you believe in this whole thing, but you're super unsure. Which, by the way, I can identify many, many days for me. And I'm not talking about days 10 years ago when I used to doubt. I'm talking about days like tomorrow, when I probably will again.
[00:16:30] Maybe you failed, and that failure still lingers. It sticks with you. It replays over and over in your mind. And maybe you've simply just gone back to what's familiar, but you've noticed that it feels more empty than it ever has.
[00:16:42] And Easter is this Jesus standing on that shore of your life saying, come and have breakfast. Do you love me? In inviting you again to follow him now, I want you to understand more than ever that this is not something that is filled with shame or guilt. That has nothing to do with church attendance.
[00:17:01] It has nothing to do with simply just trying to do the right thing in the right moment.
[00:17:05] Instead, it has everything to do with grace, this unmerited favor that none of us deserve, that Jesus so freely offers you and I today.
[00:17:16] So maybe take this moment right here, and in a moment, I'm going to give you an opportunity to make that decision, maybe for the first time, to go ahead and follow after Jesus.
[00:17:25] But I want to encourage you to picture it. The sun rising over the water, the smell of a charcoal fire, and the sound of Jesus voice, and sitting at that with his Savior, a man who was convinced that. That his story and his life was over.
[00:17:42] But instead of hearing condemnation, he simply hears, follow me.
[00:17:47] That's Easter.
[00:17:49] Not just an empty tomb, but a full invitation.
[00:17:55] So I'm going to invite you right now as we close this time together and get ready for all the panic of Easter egg hunts.
[00:18:06] Where are we gonna go? Where's our hunt? Oh, my gosh.
[00:18:09] I want to give you an opportunity to make that decision today. Maybe it's the first time you've ever done so to say, I want to follow after Jesus.
[00:18:18] So with every head bowed and every eye closed, I just want to ask you real simply, do you want to make that decision today? Do you want to follow Jesus?
[00:18:26] If that's you, I want you to raise your hand in 3, 2, 1. Go ahead and go. Put it up.
[00:18:31] Amen.
[00:18:33] Put it Down.
[00:18:35] Now, the second group, I want to ask you, are you one of these people that you know, Maybe you've been following after Jesus, but this kind of cycle of shame is so ever present.
[00:18:47] You're not just a person that feels like you've done something wrong, but you feel like you are in and of yourself wrong. Your hard wiring is wrong.
[00:18:57] I want to invite you to be set free from that shame today.
[00:19:02] You're not a failure, you're just simply an unfinished story.
[00:19:07] So if that's you, you want to be set free from that shame today, I just want to encourage you to raise your hand. 3, 2, 1, go. You can put it up, you can put it down.
[00:19:19] Amen.
[00:19:20] So first we're going to pray with those who are making this decision to follow after Jesus.
[00:19:25] And in a moment, everyone is going to pray this prayer with you. Just a reminder the power. There's not some magic power in the prayer or saying it in Westside with a certain pastor at a certain time. It's simply an opportunity for you to come with your hands open humbly before Jesus and simply say, I want to follow you. That is what's happening now in this moment. So everybody pray this prayer after me. Say, dear Jesus, I want to give my life to you because you gave your life for me.
[00:19:55] I believe you died on the cross for my sin and you rose again for my salvation.
[00:20:04] I want to follow you today in Jesus name.
[00:20:09] Amen. Lord, we pray for those who are feeling just wrecked with shame. Lord Jesus, I pray that we would understand right now that resurrection doesn't just meet us in glory, but it meets us in those shameful places in these ordinary, confused and sometimes unfinished lives. You find us there.
[00:20:28] Thank you. That you come to us on the shore in the morning in our emptiness and you call us again and again and again. We can begin again.
[00:20:36] We still belong.
[00:20:38] So Lord, for those who are feeling that shame today, restore what feels broken. Reignite love where it's grown cold and give us courage to follow after you again.
[00:20:49] So we come to you understanding that we in and of ourselves are not perfect. But we come to you with open hearts.
[00:20:57] In your great name we pray.
[00:20:59] Amen.
